


A Strange Beginning

by kittychat47



Category: Flight Rising
Genre: First time posting here, Gen, also first time writing lore in a bit, and she's not a main character, astral lore event, sort of the beginning of a nuzlocke?, there's exactly one normal dragon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2019-11-01 21:48:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17875457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittychat47/pseuds/kittychat47
Summary: Stacks and Diamond have been running from the many folks who would kill or use them for most of their lives. Now they've come across a strange, dragon-like being in an old, abandoned clan. How will they handle it?Serena Mooneye is an older tundra who's been the only survivor of more than one catastrophe. How will she handle the appearance of 3 strange dragons in the ruins of her clan?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This work is for a lore event. this is the link for the topic on fr: http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2573843/1 you should definitely check it out because there are a lot of other people writing cool lore for this event!   
> I expect this to be 2 or 3 chapters, but I've not done much writing before outside of when I used to try to do pinkerlockes, which were a completely different style of writing since it was daily entries, so I have no idea how to judge this kind of thing. Wish me luck!

Stacks and Diamond moved carefully through the Tangled Wood, senses alert. They hoped the confusing nature of the wood would keep those who would hunt the pair from finding them, but Stacks had learned early in her life that she could never be too cautious; others considered her lineage too... special to leave her alone- whether they thought she had great powers or needed to be destroyed for her blood. She wasn't even as powerful as they all thought; all she could do was blur her form somewhat to hide and remember information perfectly- nothing world-endingly powerful like they all seemed to think. 

Diamond's head whipped around suddenly; they'd heard something. “Stacks. I hear sobbing.” He spoke with a hissing, bubbling voice she'd come to know well.

Stacks strained her ears, but she couldn't hear anything. She supposed his greater perception was due to his strange nature; after all, he was an amalgamate, not a dragon, however good he was at pretending he was a bogsneak. Sometimes she wondered what he would look like if he formed himself into another type of dragon, but she knew he wouldn't since his ooze-like body had trouble forming the more rigid structures of the other dragon species. Still, his heightened predatory skills and instincts were very helpful, especially in this situation.

“Let's investigate stealthily. It may be a trap.” Stacks replied. Diamond nodded and flattened his form against the ground, almost seeming to dissolve and vanish as he oozed across the forest floor. Stacks flitted up and slid into the branches of the trees, flitting around the deeper shadows- they would only cause her gray form to stand out. 

They moved through the trees like this, only stopping when they found themselves at the edge of a tiny settlement. No more than ten buildings were nestled among the trees here, and all seemed to be abandoned. This might seem odd normally, but the spectral flames licking the trees and buildings made the sight incredibly disturbing. Stacks and Diamond stared at the sight, unsure how to react. Stacks narrowed her eyes and carefully edged forward to look closer.

“They're not burned.” She spoke softly, as though her voice might disturb something.

Diamond's head rose from the ground, a faceted eye fixing on her. “What?” he hissed in reply.

“The buildings. They're abandoned, a bit destroyed by time, but not burned. I don't know why we're seeing fire, but I don't think ghosts are involved.” As she replied, she started edging forward. Her curiosity was too high; she had to know why there seemed to be fire here in this abandoned place.

Diamond lurched up from the ground. “You're going in?” his wings opened nervously, and she knew he was fighting the urge to wrap her in them to keep her from doing something dangerous.

“It's abandoned. I'm not going to get caught. I've gotten this far in life.” She replied calmly, pausing to look at him.

He narrowed his eyes. “By going into spectral fire?”

She flicked her headfins dismissively. “It's not real. And the place is abandoned.”

He rolled an eye at her. “This is the Tangled Wood. Tricks abound.”

She shifted uncertainly before landing on a branch. “I'll give you five minutes to investigate, but afterwards I'm going in. All I have is knowing things, Diamond, and I can't stand not knowing what's behind this.” The pair stared at each other for a short while before Diamond lashed his tail in annoyance and faded into the ground once more, moving in to investigate.

A few minutes later, just before Stacks would've gone in to investigate herself, Diamond showed back up. “Completely empty except for someone sobbing in a pond up northeast.” he shifted a bit nervously. “ 's not a dragon. Not sure what they are.”

Stacks perked up a bit. “All the more interesting then.” With that, she hopped off the branch she was sitting on and flew in towards the northeast, keeping high. As she floated above the buildings, she confirmed what she'd seen earlier; none of the buildings looked burnt, despite the appearance of flames. It wasn't long at all until she saw a pond just northeast of the settlement with a blue Guardian sitting on the water, weeping.

Intrigued, Stacks glided closer, being careful to keep out of sight. The being looked like a Guardian at first sight, except for the fact that she sat upon the water. At a closer glance, though, Stacks could tell she seemed to be some kind of living statue; her skin was too smooth and still and her markings too perfectly shaped to be natural. She stopped a careful distance away, observing the being. Diamond oozed up below her, and she flitted carefully down to him. “Some kind of living statue, I think. Seen one before. Wasn't weeping though. Don't know what that's about.” She whispered, not taking her eyes off the figure.

“And on the surface of the water?” Diamond seemed very off-put by the strange being in front of them. 

Stacks shrugged. “Another oddity.” She glanced around instinctively and saw a well-dressed Tundra walking through the buildings toward the pond; it didn't look like she'd seen them yet. “Hide.” she whispered, slipping under the eaves of a nearby roof. Diamond oozed back into the ground, vanishing unless you knew how to look for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Serena moved nervously through the abandoned buildings of her lost clan. She normally never left the bramble walls of Smiling Shadows, her menagerie, but the sound of sobbing and the spectral was upsetting her animals and putting her on edge. Out past the edge of the buildings, she saw a guardian on the surface of the old fishing pond. Flicking her ears nervously, she stopped a short distance away. “Excuse me. Are you alright? Why are you crying?”

Through the tears, the guardian turned and said, “I am an Astral. I see the future, and it is full of pain. And so I weep for it.”

Serena blinked a few times. That wasn't something she was prepared to handle. She shifted uncomfortably and said, “I'm sorry. That... sounds terrible. What's your name?”

“Metapneumata.” Came the only reply, spoken between tears.

Serena nodded and turned to head back to her menagerie. Perhaps Glitch knew something about this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stacks perked up a little under the eaves, though she was careful not to let any part of herself drop below the edge. As the tundra left, she flitted back down to where Diamond was. “Did you hear what they called themselves? An Astral. Didn't we see a posting at that last trade post about a clan that was looking for them?”

Diamond shrugged. “You would know.” He kept one eye on Metapneumata and one on the retreating Tundra.

Stacks raised her fins- the fae version of a smile. “You're right. I do know. Clan Analemma is looking for them. They offered a large bounty.”  
Diamond raised an eyebrow. “Are you suggesting we turn them in to an unknown clan with unknown motives? We are hunted. Why help hunters?”

“I am suggesting we investigate this situation further. The posting suggested they were dangerous. I say we ascertain if that is true.”

“And what then?”

“Then we determine the temperament of this Clan Analemma. Then we decide how to handle this situation.” Stacks gazed determinedly towards Metapneumata as she spoke. She didn't know all that was going on with this situation, but she knew she wanted to help this being.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stacks and Metapneumata chat. Diamond is concerned. Serena is disappointed.

Stacks and Diamond moved back into the woods to eat some food and work out how to talk to this strange being without becoming a possible target of aggression. They felt talking to her wouldn't be too hard, since the Tundra they'd seen earlier seemed to talk to her easily. Diamond was very reluctant to interact with her, but Stacks was determined to. The wording of the notice she'd seen seemed very much to be either a group that loved or hated Metapneumata like she was a thing and was trying to be effusive about it, and she'd dealt with enough people who treated her that way in the past. She wasn't going to let that happen to someone else.

Diamond watched cautiously from a short distance, like before, while Stacks floated closer to Metapneumata. “Excuse me. May I ask why you came here?”

Metapneumata's head snapped towards her as she began to speak. She seemed to consider Stacks for a while before answering. “No harsh truths are spoken in the Tangled Wood. I cannot stand them. They make the world worse for all who hear them.”

Stacks cocked her head, considering this. “Why did you choose this place out of the entire Tangled Wood?”

Metapneumata watched her for a short time before looking back up towards the sky. “Why _not_ here? Why anywhere else?”

Stacks thought for a moment. “This spectral fire is coming from you, right? Can you control that?”

Metapneumata's tears seemed to double in volume at that question, and her voice came out in a whisper. “It's in my nature. I'm sorry.”

Stacks nodded, though Metapneumata couldn't see it. “I don't blame you. No one can betray their nature.” She added, her fins in the fae version of a bittersweet smile. With that, she flitted back to Diamond. “If we can find a way to help her, maybe let her control her power, we should.”

“How do we do that?” Diamond asked, one eye on Stacks and one eye still on Metapneumata.

“Perhaps Clan Analemma will have some insight. Of course, we will likely have to trick them into giving it to us. I will pen a letter, and we can send it from the trading post in the Wispwillow Grove.” Stacks replied, turning to head that way. Diamond nodded; the dragons there knew how to keep their mouths shut around outsiders, and had even directed hunters away from them in the past- more because of their own mischievous tendencies than a wish to be helpful, but it was still very helpful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Serena rapped on the door for a third time before going back to her pacing. She could still hear the faint sobbing on the wind, could still see the spectral fire licking at the edges of the bramble wall surrounding her massive menagerie if she looked towards the remains of her ruined clan. Finally, the door in the rock face opened, showing a familiar face. Serena sighed with relief. “Glitch, finally. Look there's-”

“I'm not Glitch, I'm Xerox. My mom's are out catching a new Rat King and shouldn't be back for a few days.” Serena practically wilted at the reminder. Xerox's brow knit together in surprise and confusion. “Why? Is something wrong?”

Wordlessly, Serena flicked a wing to point at the spectral fires behind her. She lifted her head, face full of concern, and replied, “There's a being by the ruins, an Astral called Metapneumata. Her weeping is heard on the wind, and this fire showed up with her. It's got every living being in the Smiling Shadows menagerie on edge, including me, and Maya's herd.” She sighed heavily. “I was hoping Glitch could do something- convince her to leave, at the very least. I had forgotten your parents were leaving to fetch a new familiar for training today.”

Xerox blinked and looked out past Serena, where she saw the spectral flames locked the bramble wall for herself. Her eyes widened. “I'll get Sync. Perhaps she can do something about this."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Dear Clan Analemma,_

_We have discovered an Astral named Metapneumata near our home. She is an interesting creature. May we ask what your intentions with her are? We are seeking the best means of providing for her safety and that of those around her. Please reply with all due speed._

__

_Best Regards,  
The Clan of Gloomwillow Grotto_

__

Diamond, who'd been reading over Stacks' shoulder as she wrote, glanced to her face. “Gloomwillow Grotto?”

__

Stacks gave an approximation of a shrug. “If we pretend we are a clan, they will respect us more. It was the first name that came to mind.”

__

Diamond looked around them warily. “Are you sure it is not too close to Wispwillow Grove? They might realize it is fake.”

__

Stacks flicked her fins in dismissal. “They are a light clan. I'm not too worried.”

__


	3. In Which I remember Xerox and Co. were supposed to do More Than That last chapter

Sync emerged from the caverns given to Glitch and Edjit's family not long after her sister went in to get her, a floating mask in tow. “Alright, Serena. Point me towards this strange being.”

As Serena showed the younger bogsneak to the place she'd met Metapneumata, she explained everything she'd learned- which wasn't that much, all told. “I figured I should just let your family handle it, when she said she saw the future, apparently in such quantities that she's just crying all the time. I'm definitely not equipped to handle that. I'm just an old dragon, after all.”

Sync smiled encouragingly at her. “You may be old, but I know for a fact that you have quite a few tricks up your sleeves. If I were you, I wouldn't count yourself out so easily.” She looked away with a small shrug. “I don't discount you for not trying to handle this yourself. If she's the source of this weird fire, we're probably better equipped to handle it, especially if things get hostile.”

As she spoke, the two were stepping through the ruined buildings, Serena doing her best to ignore the remnants of her old clan. As soon as they could glimpse Metapneumata through the buildings, Serena turned back and headed for the safety of her bramble walls at a fast trot- trying to get there quickly without looking like she was running. Sync watched her go for the most part, waiting until she was out of the ruins as far as she could see before moving on. She understood how much it hurt the older tundra to walk through these ruins.

Steeling herself, she moved up to the edge of the pool Metapneumata sat upon. She felt the comforting, if invisible, presence of Rottu off her left shoulder and the faint, easy weight of her sister hiding within her shadow to her right. “Metapneumata? Why are you here?” She asked, trying to use a tone that was commanding and reassuring at the same time.

Metapneumata let out a shuddering sob, not even looking to the newcomers. “It does not matter, to you.”

Sync blinked. That was a rather harsh stance to take, all of a sudden. Perhaps she shouldn't have tried to put a note of command into her tone? “What makes you say that?”

“We are nothing to each other. Little nothings, on a breeze, floating past each other.” Her tears seemed to thicken for a second as she spoke of little nothings.

“I want to help you, if I can. My friend told me of your torment, and I came to help.” She winced internally. The redundancy wasn't going to help. Metapneumata seemed to be against her from the beginning, and now she almost sounded like she was whining.

“You cannot help. You will never help. It simply won't be.” Metapneumata shook her head sadly, choking back a sob.

Sync felt Xerox shift in her shadow, and carefully leaned to block her. It wouldn't do for Xerox to lose her temper and attack this dragon. “I know you see the future, but I cannot believe that to be true. I promise, I will find a way to help you. You just haven't seen it yet.”

Metapneumata lowered her head until she and Sync were looking eye to eye. “You won't. I see more than you ever will, even with those toy goggles.” She almost snarled the last part, tears still pouring. Sync stared at her in shock before she felt her shadow shift again, right before Xerox jumped out of it.

Sync just barely lunged at her in time to keep Xerox from tearing Metapneumata's throat out. Xerox snarled over Sync's arm, glowering at the astral. Metapneumata smiled suddenly and pulled her head back so that she was once again sitting in the center of the pool. “So you are there, hidden shadow. Good.”

Sync and Xerox stared at her in surprise. “Were you... trying to make Xerox angry enough to show herself?” Sync said suspiciously. She was starting to not like this strange dragon.

“I see all futures. I had to be sure this was the right one.” Metapneumata was back to staring towards the sky, almost ignoring them.

Xerox growled again. Sync patted her shoulder reassuringly. “If you believed she was there, why didn't you just call out to her. Surely that future would be better.”

“There are many paths. I have chosen mine.” Metapneumata replied firmly.

Sync stared for a moment; Metapneumata was clearly setting herself against them. “The path you've chosen requires... behaving this way.” She said, disbelief clear in her voice.

Metapneumata nodded softly, still refusing to look at them. Sync sighed and turned to the pair behind her. “Let's go back. There's obviously nothing we can do here.” Xerox melted back into the shadows beneath her sister as Sync and Rottu walked away from the Astral.

As they walked back through the ruined buildings, Sync felt a pull on her shadow. She paused and turned to look behind her as Xerox reappeared from the shadows. “I'm going to hide nearby and keep watch on her.”

“Are you sure she won't know you're there?” Sync glanced over towards where Metapneumata was, now obscured by buildings.

Xerox shook her head once. “Nah. She admitted she was rude to draw me out. That means she didn't know if I was there or not. As long as I stay in the shadows, she won't know a thing.”

Sync sighed. “Alright. Be careful. I don't want to find out if she can stop me from resurrecting you.”

Xerox shot her sister a lopsided grin. “Don't worry Sy-Sy, I'll be slyer than a shadow.” And with that, Xerox melted back into the shadows and slid back around the buildings until she had a good vantage point on Metapneumata, while Sync and Rottu walked back to the Smiling Shadows menagerie to explain what happened to Serena and wait for Glitch's return.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Stacks and Diamond returned to the ruined village in the wee hours of the morning, a day later. When they got back, they discovered something; while they'd been gone, Metapneumata's effect had strengthened, and faint screams could be heard from the area while the fire seemed to have spread even farther into the trees. After scouting around and ensuring that nothing else had changed that they could see, they holed up in a building within sight of Metapneumata. Diamond slipped away to hunt while Stacks stayed hidden and ate some of the dried insect rations she'd bought at the trading outpost before they headed back, curling up to sleep tucked away in a hidden corner when she'd finished.

Everything seemed peaceful; or, at least, as peaceful as it could be with spectral fire everywhere and a weeping dragon nearby. It was almost easy to miss the furry shape that slipped from the treeline, sniffing the air as he went. The male tundra moved carefully through the buildings, looking around at the spectral fire nervously. Finally, he stopped by the house Stacks was in and on the opposite side of the house from where Metapneumata was, sniffing the air one more time to ensure he was in the right place.

Setting his stance, the tundra yelled, “Naomi's descendant! Show yourself! I know you're behind the strange goings-on here, and I've come to put a stop to your reign of terror! Come out now and I will give you a quick and merciful end! If you stay in hiding, I will be forced to come in after you, and I will tear you apart!”

After a long moment where nothing happened, he growled and started towards the building. Suddenly the shape of a bogsneak rose from the shadows and growled deliberately, “For what purpose do you walk onto _my_ lands shouting threats.”

He stepped back in surprise before steeling himself and replying, “I have come to slay the evil that lurks here. It is clear to me that the descendant of Naomi I have tracked here has corrupted this place, and I would rid you of it.”

The bogsneak snarled. “You do not need to _rid_ me of anything. You are wrong in your _assumptions_ , and I don't want to hear your mad ramblings any longer. Leave my lands now and never come back, or die.” As the bogsneak spoke, they shifted forward a few steps, glaring at him.

The tundra frowned and said, “It is obvious to me that you are under the control of this foul creature. Fear not, for I will free you from it's influence!” As he spoke, he began to charge a spell.

Before he had a chance to finish the spell, the bogsneak had moved forward faster than could be seen. They slashed out with a growl- though their hands had changed as they moved, now looking like a wire armature with 4 daggers attached. One claw went through the middle of the tundra's chest while another slashed towards his throat, but he managed to pull back fast enough that the claws only scratched him. “Ah! Another demon!” He launched the spell directly into her chest, backpedaling as his contuse didn't do nearly as much damage as he'd expected. The bogsneak continued advancing, not giving him a chance to recover. The claws flashed out again, slashing through his shoulder and adding another scratch to his throat. He began weaving another spell in a panic, but anyone could see he wouldn't be able to gather enough power in time. Before he had even gathered half of the power he would need, a clawed hand plunged straight into his chest. He gasped, staring into the bogsneak's eyes with fear in his face as the life drained from him. Growling in disdain, the bogsneak yanked their claws from his chest and watched as he collapsed to the ground.

Stacks, watching through a crack in a wall, gaped at this display. She'd woken up the instant she'd heard voices, and had been internally panicking as she realized a hunter had found her while Diamond was away. When the bogsneak appeared, she'd thought for a brief second that Diamond had returned just in time, but that thought was quickly dispelled when she saw that the bogsneak was dark colored and dressed warmly. She stayed as still as possible, trying to figure out where to go from here now that this newcomer had dispatched the hunter so quickly.

“It's alright. I won't attack you. You've given me no reason to.” The bogsneak said over her shoulder, standing with her back to the house.

Stacks stiffened in her hiding spot. Right. Of course she knew where her hiding spot was, that hunter was just standing outside yelling at her. Did she dare go out there and trust this stranger's word?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Serena was doing her best to calm down some Bramble Guardians who were getting scared by the screams and the sight of fire, fake as it was, when Maya, her oldest friend and the leader of a friendly herd of centaurs, trotted over to her, a nervous look on her face. “Serena, please tell me something can be done about this. It's making my herd nervous. If it gets any worse, I won't be able to stop everyone from leaving.”

Serena's ears flicked back nervously for a second as she glanced up at Maya. “Well, hopefully when Glitch returns tomorrow, she can fix it.” She averted her gaze quickly, trying to pretend she was just distracted by the Bramble Guardians.

Maya didn't fall for it. “What? Do you not think Glitch can fix it?” The centaur asked sharply, shifting forward just a touch.

Serena winced. “I suppose I can't hide anything from you. I'm worried she won't be able to, no. Sync and Xerox went out there yesterday evening and they apparently couldn't do anything. Or at least, Sync felt there was nothing they could do.”

Maya sighed. “I guess I have to trust their judgment, then. Let's hope Glitch has a solution.” She glanced over the upset Bramble Guardians. “Let's get these fellows calmed down for now.”


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, as Stacks and Diamond prepared to head back to the trading post and check for a new letter, a massive form passed overhead, blocking what little sunlight reached the ground in the clearing the ruined town stood in. The duo looked up to see a Roc flying over, carrying a struggling Rat King in a net held in its talons. As they watched, it dropped the Rat King within the bramble wall just visible beyond the buildings and landed next to it. “I wonder what that’s about.” Stacks remarked quietly.

“Not important right now. Let’s get to the trading post.” Diamond replied, heading for the edge of the clearing. Stacks looked towards where the Roc had landed for a moment longer before shrugging and following Diamond.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night, they returned from the trading post to see Sync, who they’d met the day before while sorting out the business with Xerox, setting some kind of magical nodes around the edges of the area that manifestations were visible in. Shifting her fins curiously, Stacks moved a little closer and asked, “What are you doing?”

Sync looked up at them in surprise before grinning. “Oh! You’re back! I am setting the boundaries for a spell. It’s going to hide the manifestations and block out the noise so at least those of us who live near it can get some sleep.”

“You’re throwing a blanket over the problem.” Stacks replied, staring at her.

Sync paused, then bobbed her head. “Well, kind of, yeah, but we don’t have a way to fix it right now. My moms just got back, but Glitch can’t do anything about it right now and Edjit doesn’t really….” She shrugged. “Have much more than any other dragon.”

 

Stacks tilted her head. “Why can’t Glitch do anything right now? I thought everyone was waiting for her to get back so she could do… something.”

Sync nodded a little hesitantly. “Yes, we were, but we didn’t take into account the fact that she needs to spend 2 weeks in her pocket dimension now to make sure it doesn’t collapse.”

Stacks’s fins fanned in surprise. “Your mom has a pocket dimension?”

Sync nodded as she finished placing another node. “Yeah, we’re protector spirits. My mom was made by the Shadowbinder to make a pocket dimension to act as, like, a safe house. There are a bunch of places like it in the Tangled Wood. I’m pretty sure there are a bunch in other territories too, but they serve different purposes mostly.”

“So you hide criminals or whatnot in a pocket dimension?”

“Well, different spirits are tasked to protect different people. My mom was tasked with finding and protecting other spirits who, like her, didn’t… form quite right? Like, they don’t quite do what they were supposed to. We also try to protect others who are hunted for being ‘wrong’ or whatever, like you! Which is why Xerox stepped up to help you the other day.” As she spoke, Sync focused intently on the node, not looking at Stacks. She got quieter as she spoke about what her family was tasked with before becoming more upbeat as she spoke about what happened the day before.

Stacks flipped her fins curiously as Sync deflected. “What do you mean not quite right? Did she hurt someone she was supposed to be protecting or something?”

Sync turned and glared. “What!? No! She just can’t spend as long out of her pocket dimension as others, and she has to spend twice as long recharging it.” She turned away uncomfortably. “And sometimes, if she tries to use too much power outside of the pocket, she loses control, but she’d never hurt someone she was protecting! Just… anyone else nearby.”

There was a long silence as Stacks considered this information and Sync uncomfortably continued what she was working on. Finally, Diamond rolled his eyes and spoke abruptly. “We got a letter.”

Sync glanced over in surprise as Stacks perked up. “Oh, right. Yes, we’ve received a reply from the clan we sent a letter to about Metapneumata. We are unsure how to proceed with it, and were hoping your family would have some advice on how to handle it. We are not the most… diplomatic of dragons.”

Sync smiled and nodded. “Just give me a second to finish this. I’ve only got about two nodes left.”

Stacks and Diamond sat in silence as Sync finished the nodes, Stacks watching her attentively while Diamond watched their surroundings nervously. Once the last node was set, Sync dusted off her hands and said, "There! Let's head back to Smiling Shadows." She cocked her head for a second, then nodded and began walking around the perimeter towards Smiling Shadows.

As they followed, Stacks asked, "What was that extra pause about? It seemed like you were doing something."

"Oh, I was asking my brother Cisco to tell Morse and Kernel that I was done with my part of the job. Cisco can 'network' us together, that's his specialty. I can alter the properties of things, but it takes me a while. Technically I could've made this 'blanket' myself but it would've taken _days_. That's why I just laid the groundwork for my family instead."

Stacks seemed to consider this information for a moment before asking, "And Morse and Kernel? Who are they?"

"Morse is my brother. He can understand any language or code, and since his power is the most concerned with sound, he's going to place the spell that blocks sound. Kernel is his son. He can hide in plain sight - as long as he doesn't do something that draws attention or cast his spell when someone's already aware of him, he's invisible. He's using a modified version of his spell to hide the apparitions. There are a couple others who probably could have done that, but since Kernel's magic is partially descended from Morse, it'll mix even better than a sibling's."

Stacks nodded, looking over the spell-nodes that had been placed in a neat circle as the trio walked around the area. It seemed rather well constructed to her eye, though she had never had any real training in the field.

Soon they reached the bramble fence that they now knew surrounded the Smiling Shadows menagerie and slipped through the entrance, shooting worried looks towards the area of the fence also covered in illusory flames. Standing near the boundary of the spell-nodes place inside the fence were three bogsneaks; two of them seemed to be working on tying their own spells into the nodes, while the third seemed to be watching them work. As they approached, the third bogsneak looked up at them and waved before moving over to them. “Ah, you must be Stacks and Diamond! Sync said she would be bringing you over.”

“Yes. We received this letter in response to a communication we sent out regarding Metapneumata.” As Stacks spoke, she pulled out the reply and held it up.

Sync took it and moved to stand beside Cisco, the pair of them reading it over together.

_Dear Gloomwillow Grotto,_

_Thank you for reaching out. If you have met her, you must know of the odd effect she has on her environment. Our one and only goal is to return her to the plane she originally hails from. If we do not, she is likely to cause significant damage to her surroundings. If you sincerely want her to be safe, please allow us to send an emissary. You are welcome to meet us on the neutral borderland of Bramble Step, if you so choose._

_Sincerely,  
Queen Rebis of Analemma_

 

_P.S.: Her sister was recently returned to their home plane. It is unclear what effects this may have on Metapneumata as they are the only twin astrals we have encountered so far. Please be careful._

The pair read it over carefully, their faces turning to a frown. “I do not like this line, ‘return her to her original plane’. If the plane she hails from is anything like where spirits like us came from, I wouldn’t wish such a fate on anyone, even my worst enemy.” Said Cisco, while Sync nodded in agreement.

“What is that plane like?” Stacks asked, head cocked.

The pair exchanged a look. “Simply put, it’s nothing. Literally, it’s an absence of a place. When a spirit is created, they are formed from enough ‘something’ ending up there, wether by the gods putting their power there to intentionally create a spirit or by tiny things slipping through the cracks gathering together to become a spirit. If a living thing goes there, it tends to get torn apart by the nothing and put back together into a new spirit.”

Everyone gathered shivered. It was a terrible prospect to contemplate. Sync spoke up. “I mean, they _do_ speak of safety. Perhaps her plane is different. I mean, they could also be trying to trick us, but the only way to find out is for someone to go there and have a nice, diplomatic chat. I think you should go, Cisco. You do prefer to spend your time as a diplomat normally, after all.”

Cisco nodded. “Yes, that sounds like a good idea to me. I’ll take Morse and Kernel, that way Morse can tell me if they’re hiding secrets in some kind of code, and Kernel can tail along behind as a hidden guard. Hopefully they won’t have a powerful mage hanging around the meeting, but if they do, we can probably use Kernel’s relaxed nature to convince them not to perceive that as a sort of threat.”

Sync looked over the spell-fence they were putting up and sighed. “You’d best go as soon as that’s done, then. It’ll conceal what’s already there, but I’m sure it’ll spill out even farther before too long, what with how it’s been going so far. Good luck, call out to me if you need a quick extraction.” Cisco nodded and went to tell Morse and Kernel what the next plan was.


End file.
